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It was the moment many anticipated and others feared in anticipation. Apple has officially approved and welcomed into its App Store the first "gambling" application. Dubbed "Betfair," the downloadable game is the first ever betting application that may truly usher in a new gambling era for iPhone users.

Several months ago on MMI, yours truly covered how some Apple fans had begun expressing concern about a change of language in the iPhone developer agreement - a change that, for all intents and purposes, dictated that gambling is now "possible" via the iPhone. According to Apple:

3.3.17 Your Application may include promotional sweepstakes or contest functionality provided that You are the sole sponsor of the promotion and that You and Your Application comply with any applicable laws.

The window of opportunity opened by the revised language has made it possible for Betfair to arrive in the App Store. And, ready or not, it could spark a new gaming trend. But, to clear up any confusion, the app in question is not available in the US, where online gambling isn't necessarily legal. For now, Betfair is available in the UK and Ireland. It utilizes GPS to make certain that bets are only wagered from within those defined territories.

Charles Palmer, Betfair's head of mobile, has been widely quoted in the media today about the controversial app and how it got Apple's stamp of approval. “There were no terms and conditions about gambling," said Palmer. "We approached Apple with the proposal and our app, showing it does the normal KYC and age verification. We have also added the ability to locate where the customer is. It can tell if you are in the UK or Ireland, and if you’re not, it won’t function. We put that in there as an extra precaution - they didn’t request that."

Of course, the arrival of Betfair will makes lots of folks nervous and fearful about all sorts abuses and the potential societal ills that could result from this app and, possibly, a fleet of others like it.